Measles outbreak hits 21 states, including Michigan

More cases of the disease are being reported from airports in Detroit, Newark, New Jersey, and Memphis, Tennessee. Here is what you should know about measles and how to tell if you're protected.
USA TODAY

Federal health officials are investigating a outbreak of measles this year that has spread to 21 states, including Michigan.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control said Wednesday that from Jan. 1 to July 14, 107 people had contracted the disease. Besides Michigan, measles has been reported in Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and the District of Columbia.

The majority of people who got measles were unvaccinated.

This year's outbreak is on pace to surpass last year's cases, when 118 people from 15 states and the District of Columbia were reported to have measles.

In 2014, the United States experienced a record number of measles cases, with 667 cases from 27 states reported to CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. One large outbreak that year — 383 cases — occured occurred among unvaccinated Amish communities in Ohio.

The agency noted that measles is common in many parts of the world, and travelers continue to bring the disease into the U.S.

In Michigan, all four measles cases reported this year resulted from exposure outside the U.S., according to health officials.

Many of the 2014 cases in the United States were associated with cases brought in from the Philippines, which experienced a large measles outbreak.

Measles is vaccine-preventable illness that's spread through a contagious person's sneezing and coughing. Symptoms include red eyes, cough, runny nose and high fever, which is followed by a red rash that's spread all over the body.

The infection can result in hospitalization, pneumonia, encephalitis and even death.